Haldiram, Bikaji, Pratap Snacks have made life difficult! PepsiCo has now joined hands with Tata
New Delhi: In India’s packaged snacks market, the big companies are facing tough competition from domestic companies. Meanwhile, American giant PepsiCo and Tata Consumer Products have joined hands to develop and sell packaged snacks. Earlier, both the companies had formed a joint venture NourishCo in the beverage market. But this was ended four years ago. According to the new deal, PepsiCo’s Kurkure snack brand will be merged with Tata Consumer’s Ching’s Secret. Tata Group had acquired Ching’s Secret a few years ago.
NourishCo Beverages was a joint venture but their partnership in the snacks market is a collaboration. PepsiCo and Tata Consumer formed a 50:50 joint venture named NourishCo Beverages in 2010. But a decade later, Tata Consumer also bought PepsiCo’s stake in it. PepsiCo India’s Kurkure and Doritos marketing director Aastha Bhasin called the partnership with Tata a milestone collaboration and said that fusion flavors are becoming increasingly popular in India.
How big is the market
A source said the partnership could be extended to other products within the companies’ portfolios based on consumer response. PepsiCo’s Kurkure market is worth ₹1,000 crore. The company’s snacks portfolio includes Lay’s chips and Doritos Nachos. Salt-to-staples company Tata Consumer Products acquired Ching’s Secret and Smith & Jones noodles and spices maker Capital Foods for ₹5,100 crore in January last year.
PepsiCo and Tata have joined hands at a time when the ethnic packaged snacks market is full of domestic and D2C companies. India’s snacks market is worth ₹42,695 crore and is growing at a rate of 20 percent annually. Apart from PepsiCo, the packaged snacks market includes big companies like ITC, Parle Products, Cornitos, DFM Foods that makes crackers, Haldiram, Bikanerwala, Balaji Snacks, Bikaji Foods and Pratap Snacks.
Haldiram is also in focus
This category also includes many regional and D2C companies. Regional brands are priced low and distribute directly at high retail margins. According to a report by research firm IMARC, the Indian snacks market is expected to reach ₹95,521.8 crore in sales by 2032, double the figure from 2023. This is why PepsiCo wants to play a big bet in the Indian market. It has also started talks to buy a minority stake in the country’s largest ethnic snacks company Haldiram Snacks Food.
